The National Policy Association (NPA), in collaboration with the Association for Health Services Research (AHSR) will conduct a conference to explore the inter-relationships among income inequality, socioeconomic status and health and to identify policy options that will promote improved health outcomes. The conference will address one of the three goals of "Healthy People 2000", reducing disparities in health among different population groups. This conference will: gather and disseminate information about how health is affected by income inequality and socioeconomic status; develop policy recommendations to improve health outcomes in the United Sates; and disseminate information and recommendations to policy markers and the public. Pre-conference presentations on this topic will take place in November 1999 at NPA and AHSR sponsored events. At these sessions project staff will meet with researchers to plan for the larger conference and to assess audience interest in specific aspects of this issue. The national conference, to be held in the Spring of 2000 in Washington, DC, will include presentations by notable health researchers who have studied this issue in the U.S. and overseas. A policy roundtable composed of business, labor, government and academic leaders will react to the presentations and offer their recommendations to an audience of diverse public and private sector representatives. A conference summary will be published and disseminated to a readership of approximately 2,000 opinion leaders from business, labor, government, non-profits and academia. Through its established media contacts, NPA will promote extensive media coverage of the conference and policy recommendations.